The Collectors' King Crimson

[Marsyas]

The Collectors' King Crimson...

http://www.discogs.com/label/348523-...s-King-Crimson

Are any of these suitable for the educated (and selective) layman, or are they all only for completists and dyed-in-the-wool hard-line fans?

[AncientChord]

Oh my! Some are soundboard recordings and others are marginal audience ones, that Robert Fripp acquired from some bootleggers. Many are excellent must-haves if you are a KC fan. I believe you can hear samples before you purchase on some sites, so you can decide what sounds good to you. And what's good about these releases is that they cover every different line-up and era of the band with the exception of the current line-up. And I do believe that you don't have to buy the box sets listed on your link above. Check out the KC DGM web site, which sells each each concert separately. Here you go: http://shop.schizoidshop.com/king-cr...-club-c67.aspx

[Crystal Plumage]

I only have the #6 box with the ProjeKCt releases.

[remoraes]

there are some soundboard well mixed and with full sound, some seems to be cut straghit from the board with no further mix and the sound is flat
there are gigantic great performances, there are some are just ok.
Larks, Starless and Red box sets united a LOT of the good ones from late period

there are historical recordings like the 1st performance with Jamie Muir

[Spiral]

Are any of these suitable for the educated (and selective) layman, or are they all only for completists and dyed-in-the-wool hard-line fans?

Some of both. They're all repackagings of DGM releases (most already on CD, some that were previously download-only). That page is pretty confusing since they're combining the Collectors series and The Collectable KC, which are different things.

The Collectable KC is a series of double discs meant to bring some live DGM archive material to normal retail outlets like Amazon (hack hack spit) or brick-and-mortar stores. The idea is to feature material that the wider public might be interested in even if they don't directly follow the label. That series is:

#1 1974 (the Mainz KCCC disc and the full Asbury Park show, which used to be download-only and later got remixed for the latest version of USA)
#2 1980s (that band's first-ever show, which sounds awful but is there out of historical interest, and a smoking '82 show in good quality; both previously out on disc)
#3 1996 (one full show over two discs, previously download-only)
#4 2000 (one full show from Poland, previously released on CD)
#5 1995 (first release of the soundtrack from Live in Japan/Deja Vrooom)

The Collectors' boxes, on the other hand, are import comps--Japan only, IIRC--that combine three Collectors Club releases each, usually grouped by time period. They're pretty pointless for the rest of us since it's all the same stuff you could buy individually straight from DGM.

[syncopatico]

Some of both. They're all repackagings of DGM releases (most already on CD, some that were previously download-only). That page is pretty confusing since they're combining the Collectors series and The Collectable KC, which are different things.

The Collectable KC is a series of double discs meant to bring some live DGM archive material to normal retail outlets like Amazon (hack hack spit) or brick-and-mortar stores. The idea is to feature material that the wider public might be interested in even if they don't directly follow the label. That series is:

#1 1974 (the Mainz KCCC disc and the full Asbury Park show, which used to be download-only and later got remixed for the latest version of USA)

This is the only "The Collectable King Crimson" (two disc set) I have: it's a fine enough release except that the discs are labeled wrong: Asbury Park is Mainz and vice versa!

[Marsyas]

Thanks all for your comments and clarifications. It seems to me that, all things considered (and having listened to a few samples), these are better appreciated by the dedicated KC fan than otherwise.